Ohio State "apparently has no problem" with former football player Anthony Gonzalez "using pictures and video from his playing days in advertising for his campaign" to represent Ohio's 16th Congressional District, according to Andrew Tobias of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. OSU is known for taking "particularly aggressive legal action in defense of its brand," including a recent incident involving former player Chris Spielman. School officials "refused to say whether Gonzalez sought permission to use OSU's imagery for his political campaign, or whether they have declined similar requests in the past." Two weeks ago, Gonzalez' campaign "issued a round of advertising containing images" of his playing days in a TV commercial, which "includes game-day images of Gonzalez in uniform ... making a particularly famous catch" against Michigan. A piece of "glossy, folded literature" was also mailed to voters throughout the 16th District, which "contains two pictures of Gonzalez in-uniform, playing football." Gonzalez' campaign said that the images "are either from the Gonzalez family's personal collection, or in a couple of instances, the rights to photos were purchased." The school's advertising policy says that "generally, using university trademarks for promotional purposes without a licensing agreement is prohibited under state and federal law." An OSU official said the school policy is "designed to address commercial use, as opposed to political speech, which could arguably be protected by the First Amendment" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/4).
